Railway-crossing.



I. O. STANT.

RAILWAY GROSSING.

APPLICATION FILED MAR l'fi, 1909.

Patented Dec.7,1909.

W/ rxvsssgs; [NI/EN TOR IRA O. STAN'I, 0F DUBLIN, INDIANA, ASSIGNOR OF:OF DUBLIN, INDIANA, AND ONE-FOURTH 'IO 'NEWTON, IOWA.

ONE-FOURTH TO S. P. BRADWAY, NEWTON BALANCE VALVE (20., OF

RAILWAY-CROSSING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Dec. 7, 1909.

Application filed March 15, 1909. Serial No. 483,545.

To all whom it may concern: Be it known that I, IRA O. STANT, a citizenof the United States, residing at Dublin, in the county of Wayne andState of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRailway-Crossings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in railway crossings and theobject is to provide a practically continuous and solid bearing or railfor the car wheels.

In the crossings now in common use a break is caused in each rail wherethe rail of the opposite track crosses, due to the space requirementsfor the downwardly projecting flanges of the car wheels. The break inthe rail which this space necessitates causes a pounding of the adjacentends of the rails at the passage of every carwheel, and this poundingsoon crystallizes the metal of the rail causing it to disintegraterapidly and crumble.

My invention consists primarily in a supplemental vertically movablerail on the inside of each rail of each of the two tracks, which willstand normally level with its respective adjacent track rail, and Iprovide means by the depression of the movable rails of one track by theaction of the flanges of passing car wheels, to lock the movable railsof the opposite'or cross-track in elevated position thereby closing thespace or break in the track over which the car wheels are passing.

I accomplish the objects of my invention by the mechanism illustrated inthe accompanying drawing, in which- Figure l is a top plan view of arailway crossing embodying my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail inhorizontal section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 3 showing the intersection atright angles, of the two rails. Fig. 3 is a detail in vertical sectionon the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a top plan view of one of theshoes. Fig. 5 is a view in side elevation of one of the movable rails.Fig. 6 is a like view of a movable rail to operate at right angles tothe rail shown in Fig. 5, and Fig. 7 is a detail in under side plan viewof the movable rail shown in Fig. 6 on a larger scale than in said Fig.6.

Like characters of reference indicate like parts throughout the severalviews of the drawing.

6 are the cross-ties, 7 the track-rails, and 8 the guard-rails, all ofusual and wellknown construction, the same being shown as comprising tworailroad tracks crossing each other at substantially right angles.Located between the rails 7 and the guard-rails 8, in the spacetherebetween which is provided for the flanges of the wheels of the carsmoving over the tracks, is a movable rail 9, there being two of themovable rails 9 for each track or four altogether at each crossing. Eachof these movable rails 9 extends across the opposite track and to adistance on each side suflicient to enable the flanges of the wheels ofan approaching train to operate the movable rails of that track and lockthe movable rails of the opposite track. The movable rails of the twotracks intersect each other and at their intersection they are notchedas shown in Fig. 3 to permit this and to prevent interference in theirvertical movements. Both rails are sufficiently notched at their tops topermit the passage of car-wheel flanges without interference when themovable rails are in their maximum raised positions. The tops of themovable rails adjacent to these notches fill in the flange-space thatotherwise would break the continuity of the track-rail crossing saidmovable rail.

The movable rails 9 are provided with sockets to receive the ends ofsprings 11. The springs 11 are supported on base plates 12 and theplates 12 have lugs 13 which enter the coils of springs 11 and retainthe springs in position on plate 12. There are at least two of thesesprings 11 to each movable rail 9, one at each end of said rail, andthere may be more than two springs if needed. These springs will holdthe movable rail 9 in normal elevated position, with the top of the rail9 on a level with the top of the adjacent track-rail 7. The movablerails 9 will be provided with vertical slots 14 through each of which abolt 15 will pass. The bolt 15 will also pass through the adjacenttrack-rail 7 and guard-rail 8, and these bolts 15 passing through slots14, will guide and direct the vertical movement of the movable rail 9.The bolts 15 will preferably be surrounded by a spacing-tube 16, theends of which will bear against the adjacent fixed rails 7 and 8 andpermit the bolts 15 to be tightened up without binding the movable rail9 between said fixed rails '7 and 8.

18 is a base plate located under the intersection of each pair of railsand mounted thereon are a pair of vertical shafts 19 each having a shoe20. These shafts 19 are adapted to be rocked, and their rocking will beaccomplished by the vertical movement of movable rails 9. The rails 9will have sockets to receive the upper ends of shafts 19 and the twoshafts 19 of each base plate 18 will each operate in conjunction withthe opposite moving rails 9 intersecting at that plate 18. The rockshafts 19 have spiral grooves 22 to receive lugs or pins 23 carried bythe moving rail 9 and extending into the socket of the latter receivingits respective rock shaft 19. The downward movement of the movable rail9 causes shaft 19 to rock by the action of lugs 23 on the spiral groove22 of said shaft. The shoe 20 of shaft 19 lies under the rail 7 when themovable rail 9 is in its highest position, but the lowering of the rail9 and consequent rocking of shaft 19 swings the shoe 20 under theadjacent movable rail 9 and provides a solid support for the last rail 9whereby the latter fills the gap in rail 7 and forms a practically c011-tinuous unbroken rail for the passage of the car wheels over said rail 7parallel with the movable rail 9 which has been lowered.

Inasmuch as car wheel-flanges vary in their extent it becomes necessaryfor me to provide for this variation. I therefore form the spiral groove22 in rock shaft 19 of sufficient length to cause the shoe 20 to bethrown into proper position under its rail 9 by the smallestwheel-flange; then to accommodate the greater flanges I extend thespiral grooves 22 straight down, or longitudinally of the shaft 19,without making same spiral as shown at 29 in Fig. 3. This permits thepins 23 to travel on downwardly by the continued movement of movablerail 9 by the action of greater flanges, without further rotation ofshaft 19. After the car wheels have passed the movable rail 9, thelatter are returned to normal elevated position by the action of springs11.

To avoid an accumulation of water which would allow the working parts ofmy device to freeze up I insure drainage by reducing the thickness ofthe movable rail 9, at each side of the latter below the top, exceptwhere stifiening flanges are required for strength, as shown in thedrawing.

The broad feature of my invention is that movable shoes are made to moveby a movable rail into position to render an opposite movable railimmovable whereby the latter thus temporarily fills the flange-space inthe track-rail parallel with the movable rail that set the shoes. Thismay be variously accomplished by actuating mechanisms differing from theparticular mechanism for the purpose herein shown and described. Hence Ido not limit my invention to such particular mechanism except in such ofthe appended claims as specifically set forth parts thereof.

hat I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a railway crossing, the combination with the fixed rails of twocross-tracks having wheel-flange notches therein, of movable railsadapted in their elevated positions to fill out the notches in saidfixed rails, means for locking said movable rails in their elevatedpositions, and means by the lowering of the movable rails of one trackfor locking the movable rails of the other track.

2. In a railway crossing, the combination with the fixed rails of twocross-tracks having wheel-flange notches therein, of movable railsadapted in their elevated positions to fill out the notches in saidfixed rails, shoes to lock the movable rails in elevated position, andmeans by the lowering of the movable rails of one track for locking themovable rails of the other track.

3. I11 a railway crossing, the combination with the fixed rails of twocross-tracks having wheel-flange notches therein, of movable railsadapted in their elevated positions to fill out the notches in saidfixed rails, shoes to lock the movable rails in elevated position andmeans by the lowering of the movable rails of one track for locking themovable rails of the other track, said means comprising spirally groovedrocked shafts to which said shoes are fixed and lugs on the movablerails to engage said spiral grooves and rock said shafts by the travelof the movable rails.

4:. In a railway crossing, the combination with the fixed rails of twocross-tracks, having wheel-flange notches therein, of movable railsadapted in their elevated positions to fill out the notches in saidfixed rails, shoes to lock the movable rails in elevated position andmeans by the lowering of the movable rails of one track for locking themovable rails of the other track, said means compris ing spirallygrooved rock shafts to which said shoes are fixed and lugs on themovable rails to engage said spiral grooves and rock said shafts by thetravel of the movable rails, the lower ends of the grooves on said rockshaft extendin longitudinally of the shaft and not spirally.

5. In a railway crossing, the combination with fixed rails and movablerails of shafts located in sockets in the movable rails and having shoesadapted to be moved by the rocking of their shafts into position to lockoppositely placed movable rails in their elemy hand and seal atIndianapolis, Indiana, vated position, said rock shafts having this 11thday of March, A. D. one thousand spiral grooves terminatingwith straightp0 nine hundred and nine.

tions extending longitudinally of the shaft, IRA O. STANT. [L.s.] 5 thesockets in which said shafts are seated Witnesses:

having lugs Which enter said grooves. F. W. WOERNER,

In Witness whereof, I, have hereunto set L. B. WOERNER.

